CHICAGO: Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was shot and killed on Friday in the West Bank village of Beita near Nablus during a non-violent protest against the expansion of illegal Jewish settlements and escalating settler violence against Palestinian home and landowners.
Social media discourse was dominated by expressions of outrage over what was described as a double standard in US media, which did not hesitate to blame Arabs and Muslims when pro-Israel Americans were killed but was reluctant to point a finger at Israelis when pro-Palestinian Americans were killed.
Human rights attorney and author Qasim Rashid condemned American media’s double standard, writing on X: “Shame on these legacy media outlets. Not one is willing to state the fact that the Israeli military killed Aysenur Ezgi Eygi — a US citizen. Apparently, a magical bullet appeared out of thin air & killed her. This is how legacy media normalizes violence against people of color.”
When several Israelis, including one with American dual citizenship, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, were killed in Gaza last week, mainstream news media featured an avalanche of condemnation from American politicians.
President Joe Biden said he was “devastated and outraged” over Polin’s death, while Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris invoked a Jewish prayer for the dead, saying, “May Hersh’s memory be a blessing.” Harris went on further to denounce Hamas as “an evil terrorist organization,” adding that “with these murders, Hamas has even more American blood on its hands.”
In contrast, both Biden and Harris were personally silent regarding the killing of Eygi, allowing the release of a generic media statement attributed to the White House, which said it was “deeply disturbed” by her death.
The White House called for Israel to investigate Eygi’s killing, a sentiment reiterated by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken who, during a press briefing in the Dominican Republic, expressed condolences to the victim’s family but said: “Let’s find out exactly what happened … and that’s exactly what we’re in the process of doing.”
Neither the White House nor Blinken, however, asked for an investigation into Polin’s death and immediately embraced Israel’s assertions that he was killed by Hamas. And while Blinken did not post any comments regarding Eygi’s killing on his official X account, he posted at length on Polin’s death, writing on social media: “Hersh Goldberg-Polin is an American hero who will be remembered for his kindness and selflessness. Our hearts break for Jon, Rachel, and their entire family, as well as the other families who found out today their loved ones won’t be coming home. May their memory be a blessing.”
US State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller also spoke at length at a press briefing following news of Polin’s death but repeated Blinken’s statement saying the State Department is “urgently” gathering more information on Egyi’s death.
After graduating from university, Eygi volunteered with the International Solidarity Movement, which monitors and protests the expansion of illegal Jewish-only settlements on non-Jewish-owned lands in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem.
The ISM released a lengthy statement describing Eygi as “peacefully demonstrating alongside Palestinians” but criticized the hypocrisy of American politicians and news outlets’ response to her death.
“This is just another example of the decades of impunity granted to the Israeli government and army, bolstered by the support of the US and European governments, who are complicit in enabling genocide in Gaza. Palestinians have suffered far too long under the weight of colonization. We will continue to stand in solidarity and honor the martyrs until Palestine is free.”
The New York Times came under particularly harsh criticism when it reported that Eygi had “joined the rally in Beita, where residents have been protesting for years — sometimes violently — against a settler outpost on lands claimed by the village.”
The outlet later updated the story to remove the phrase “sometimes violently” from the original story authored by Ephrat Livni, an Israeli-American writer.
Family members and witnesses said Eygi had traveled to the West Bank to celebrate her graduation with relatives there when she observed a protest in Beita near Nablus against repeated acts of violence by Israelis and soldiers from a nearby settlement, which is being expanded onto Arab land.
According to the Associated Press, two doctors on the scene said Eygi was shot in the head, killing her instantly.
Israeli officials referred to Eygi as a “foreign national,” not referencing her citizenship as an American. She has dual citizenship and is of Turkish origin.
Eygi’s parents published a statement on Instagram calling for an immediate investigation into their daughter’s killing, describing her as a “fiercely passionate human rights activist” and “staunch advocate of justice” who “felt a deep responsibility to serve others.”
Eygi graduated from the University of Washington where she studied psychology and Middle Eastern languages and cultures.
Her parents said in the statement: “She was active on campus and (in) student-led protests advocating for an end to violence against the people of Palestine. Aysenur felt compelled to travel to the West Bank to stand in solidarity with Palestinian civilians who continue to endure ongoing repression and violence.”
They said Eygi “was peacefully standing for justice when she was killed by a bullet that video shows came from an Israeli military shooter.”
